Befriend A Book Blogger – Noelle From CrimeBookJunkie

Today I’m pleased to be able to welcome Noelle Holten from CrimeBookJunkie to the blog. Here’s Noelle’s very excited bio about herself;

My name is Noelle and I am in my 40’s. I am an avid reader and by that I mean I am never without a book! By day I am a Senior Probation Officer and by night I read all things crime!! My fascination for books started at a young age and I truly feel withdrawal symptoms if I am unable to read for a few days hence the name #crimebookjunkie! I am interested in many genres, my faves being Grit Lit, psychological thrillers and all things murder. I do enjoy Police Procedurals and legal/action thrillers as well. I have had a brief but wonderful stint as a Book Publicity Assistant for the fantastic Maxine Groves of Booklover Catlady Publicity & Reviews, and now a dream-come-true opportunity happened and I currently do freelance publicity work for BOOKOUTURE! OMG!!! I am also doing some freelance work with David & Kelly McCaffrey for Britain’s Next Best Seller! OMG again!!!! To say I am excited would be an understatement!

Depending how things go next year (2017) I hope to get Thick As Thieves Publicity & Promo off the ground, too! But for the time being, I am busy enough!

Welcome to the blog, thanks for stepping away from yours for a few minutes to answer some questions about book blogging.

Thanks so much for having me, Rebecca!

We’ll start with the easy questions and then see where we go from there!

How long have you been book blogging and what prompted you to start?

I have always been an avid reader, but never thought or even knew about blogging until two years ago. Katherine Everett of Best Crime Books and More asked me if I would like to do some Guest Reviews on her awesome blog- how could I refuse! After a couple of months, she encouraged me to go it alone and in May 2015, CrimeBookJunkie was born! I love sharing my passion for books and giving authors some exposure. It is my way of giving back for all the fantastic books I have the opportunity to read!

Tell us a little bit about your blog, what will blog readers find there?

CrimeBookJunkie is a blog where you will (in the main) find all the absolutely brilliant crime fiction books I come across. Murder, mayhem, mystery and suspense – if there is a dead body, I am all over it! The clue is in the name really – anything crime and I will most likely review it. Now and again, a bit of lighter reading finds its way to my page – but not very often. I also have two Guest Reviewers: Claire Knight (my ‘lil star) and ScottyDog (who writes reviews on books he has chosen).

What’s your favourite part about book blogging?

Reading is my all-time passion. Blogging has given me the opportunity to meet the absolutely amazing community of bloggers who I now class as life-long friends. It has given me confidence to attend Book Events and Festivals, which I had always dreamed of going to and it has given me the opportunity to meet and befriend so many amazing authors! #AuthorsAreMyRockstars

I have also been given the opportunity to do some freelance Publicity with my favourite Publisher: Bookouture ~ #DreamComeTrue ~ as well as work with Britain’s Next Best Seller thanks to Kim Nash and David McCafferty. Blogging opened up a whole new world to me. I love it!

What has been your highlight since you’ve started?

That is a tough question as there have been so many! Meeting my favourite authors has been a huge highlight – so many to name and I don’t want to leave anyone out accidently ~ but you know who you are! Being acknowledged in books and being a named character in a few…EEEK! Attending Harrogate for the first time and hanging out with my girlies: Sarah Hardy, Tara Lyons, Claire Knight, Shell Baker, Katherine Everett, Emma Shand, Joanne Robertson, Susan Hampson, Sharon Bairden (finally met my #Twinnie!) and meeting so many others! Speaking with Robert Bryndza on the phone at Harrogate (OMG!!); Freelance work with Bookouture and Britain’s Next Best Seller. There really have been so many brilliant moments and experiences – and it keeps getting better & better!

If you could carry on blogging but could stop doing one thing (that’s maybe a necessary part of the process now) what would it be?

Easy – give up my day job as a Senior Probation Officer and spend all my time blogging, reading, shouting out about #AllTheBooks!

What advice would you give to anyone who is considering starting a book blog?

I am still learning things every day, but what I would say is:

Embrace the blogging community, they are a brilliant bunch who are supportive and always willing to help out

Learn to say “No” – as much as we want to read all the books, it is just not possible, don’t put pressure on yourself

Have fun! My blog is for me – not stats, followers or kudos. If people like my reviews ~ great, but I am not changing how I write them as they are my own opinion. I love it when someone buys a book based on my review as the author then gets something out of it.

Be constructive in your feedback. It is ok if you don’t like a book, just don’t be nasty about it. Authors put in a lot of time to write a book, manners cost nothing.

I am sure there is more I can say, but will leave it at that.

How much time does it take up?

I spend a lot of time with my blog as I love it. It can take up as many (if not more) as a PT job. So any free time I have, is spent doing something #Bookish

What are your reading habits like?

Anywhere and everywhere – if I can be reading, that is what I am doing! On my commute to and from work; in my breaks; at home – I rarely watch TV. I would much rather read.

What state is your TBR (To Be Read) pile in?

It is a NIGHTMARE at the moment. This year, I am taking a backseat on review requests and blog tours to catch up. My dining table is covered in books. I have a bookshelf completely full of TBR books and a kindle with about 300 waiting (that is not including my own purchases!

What do you drink while reading?

I have a caffeine drip strategically inserted in my arm at all times. Ha ha – Coffee, I mainly drink coffee or water while I am reading.

Where’s your favourite place to read?

Snuggled up on my couch with my gorgeous chocolate Labrador: Buster or curled up cosy in my bed.

What book would you recommend, that gets little attention, that you haven’t really seen talked about? And why, what is it about this book that you love?

Oh – again, so many. Anyone who knows me also knows that I am a huge fan of Graham Smiths #DIHarryEvans series. I love this series, and the latest book – I Know Your Secret – because to me, it is different. The characters come to life, the storylines are interesting and grab you instantly and you really never know what is going to happen next!

I also have to give a shout out to Paul Grzegorzek and But For The Grace of God as that book is phenomenal. I have read it over eight times since it has been written and love it more and more each time I read it! That book has really got under my skin.

Reviews for both of the above books can be found on my blog of course!

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these. It’s been a pleasure having you.

Thank you so much for having me! I hope I have not babbled on too much. Books excite me….I could talk for ages!

Great read. Noelle sounds just like me. Works in dealing with the law but avid book reader. Would I give up my day job though? Working with crime and intelligence is like a real life book, so maybe not.
I fully agree with Noelle’s tips about blogging though. Don’t put yourself under pressure (I sometimes do); Embrace other bloggers – Great tip as people in the book blogging world are happy to share tips as well as their love of books.

Love your enthusiasm, Noelle! I don’t know how you manage to devote so much time to your blog with such a demanding job – but it’s through the devotion of book-junkies like you that mainstream and Indie books alike, get the chance to find a broader readership. Long may you be smitten by books! ❤️